US President-elect Donald Trump said that NATO countries should be spending 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, up from the current 2% target.
“They can all afford it, but they should be at 5% not 2%,” he said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“I’m the one that got them to pay 2%,” he continued.
Trump, who returns to the White House on January 20, has long been a critic of NATO, claiming that many European members are free-riders who don’t pay their way, relying instead on US taxpayers.
At a campaign rally last year he said he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that are not spending enough on defence.